The big winner in baseball's new Collective Bargaining Agreement: Everyone, of course. Some won bigger than others, though.

Ranking the winners:

1. Bud Selig. Don't you know NBA counterpart David Stern would like to be strutting around in the baseball's commissioner's shoes today. While the NBA remains in a bitter, protracted work stoppage that could cancel the entire season, baseball can crow about 21 consecutive seasons of labor peace.

The new CBA also includes nearly everything Selig wanted, including HGH testing, an expanded playoff field and one-game wild-card rounds. Count on the playoff expansion for 2012, too.

The deal does not include hard-slotting for draft bonuses, as Selig wanted, but the new setup taxes teams that spend more than they're allotted, which is closer than ever to hard-slotting.

2. Division winners. A one-game wild-card round actually benefits only the division champ with the best record in each league. But it certainly helps them. Because the wild-card teams figure to use their No. 1 starter in the win-or-go-home game, the top-seeded division champ figures to face a somewhat diminished pitching staff.

This change means two teams from the same division can meet before the League Championship Series. Under the new setup, this season the Rays and Red Sox would have met in the one-game wild-card playoff. Whether the winner would have moved on to face the top-seeded Yankees, however, is not known. Baseball has yet to decide if the wild-card winner can meet a division rival in the next round.

While the one-game wild-card round was done for TV ratings, the division winners also benefit. They will not have to wait up to a week to open the playoffs, which would have been the case if the wild-card round had been made a best-of-three or best-of-five.

3. The minor leagues. Because the signing deadline for draft picks is being pushed up about a month, all those first-rounders who typically waited until Aug. 15 will have to make up their minds by mid-July (the deadline will be between July 12-18).

This change will allow players who sign to start their careers that much sooner. Clubs also will benefit by getting an earlier start on developing players and colleges won't have to wait until so long to know whether their top recruits will be honoring their commitments or heading to the pros.

4. Minimum wage earners. The bottom salary for a big-leaguer will climb to $500,000 by 2014, a raise of $86,000 from 2011. In 2012, the minimum will be $480,000. Not bad work if you can qualify.

5. Fans of a clean game. Becoming the first sport to include blood testing for HGH is a big step in the right direction. But, for now, HGH testing is almost as much show as substance because players will be tested during the season only when there is "reasonable cause." In other words, not often. All players will be tested during spring training and subject to random testing in the off-season.

Both sides, however, indicated that in-season random testing --- the surest way to discourage usage --- is coming as soon as next year.

6. Replay proponents. If you want more replay, don't be concerned that it barely was expanded, to include fair/foul and "traps." The main point: It was expanded, which keeps the door open for further changes.

7. Fans of the All-Star Game. Under a new rule, players won't be able to beg out without an approved excuse from the Commissioner's Office. Sorry, Derek Jeter. And yes, the game still will count for home-field advantage in the World Series.

8. Small-market clubs. They will not be picking up anymore from revenue sharing, but they could be getting additional draft picks, thanks to a new draft lottery that will be held after the first round for teams with the worst records.

And now for a few losers:

Smokeless tobacco. Players, coaches and managers no longer can use while doing TV interviews or making club appearances, which — hopefully —will hurt the popularity of dipping and chewing.

Multi-sport phenoms. The rare athlete who can choose his sport will have less reason to go with baseball because teams —theoretically —will have less to spend on draft bonuses. But given the specialization of youth athletics these days, the new draft-bonus system does not figure to cost baseball very many players.

Anyone wanting to know what the schedule will look like in 2013. We already knew the Astros are joining the A.L. West and season-long interleague play is coming next year. That's still all we know, for now.